Shoes



A. J. RYAN. STIFFENING MATERIAL FOR SHOES. APPLXCATION FILED '1'AN.24. 191 7.

1 31 6, 65@. Pat ented Sept. 23, 1919.

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- Materials for Shoes, of which the following leather. This latter type is capable of use ALBERT J'. RYAN, or cmornnerr, OHIO.

' s'rrrrnme'ivmrnmail non snons.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT J. RYAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cincinnati, in the-county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented .certain new and useful Improvements in Stiffenmg is a'specification,

My invention relates to shoe stifleners, or box toe materials for shoes, which materials areto be placed in the shoe before pulling over and to remain in place during lasting, said material to be capable of being lasted into the shoe as well as pulled over with the upper during the preliminary operations.

There have been generally two branchs of the box toe or shoe stiflener art in the past; one has been to spread a gum on felt material and pull it over with an upper, and to lastthe shoe before the gum has had time to harden. Of this type should be classed the material which is sold bysome manufacturers which is stiff and already permeated with the gums or waxes, said gums adapted to be cut by the application 'of some chemical such as alcohol so as to become soft and stay soft while all the operations are completed in lasting the shoe.

Then there has been used in the past another type of boxing, which is an-already permeated and stiff material which is adapted to be softened by heat alone, said heat to be of higher degree thanthe body of a shoe wearer but low enough not to injure in lasting shoes in case lots, because the pulling over can be done on one day and the lasting in on the next, by merely heating up the lasts and shoes before the second operation.

The advantages of this last method over i the first above mentioned are obvious and and also water or steam has been used,

. Specification of Iletters Patent. Patented Sept. 23, 1919. Application filed aanuary 24, 1917. Serial No. 144,257.

It is the object of my invention to provide a box toe material which is capable of being used by a method which is half way be tween the two methods noted above, and which I believe to avoid the difliculty of both while retaining the advantages of each.

Thus I have a new material which is described in terms of how it may be used, and is therefore closely related and one invention with the method of using the same.

I propose to provide a box toe material which will soften with petroleum or coal tar products, which said products are beneficial to leathers, particularly the treated leather, and which tend to render the leather pliable and easily lasted into perfect shape. It is to be noted that the naphtha, bend or the like, after it has seemed to dry out and the box starts to harden, can be caused to flow again by a slight heating. The boxes may thus be used in case lots. and the second heating during lasting will finally drive off all the products of the softener, thereby leaving a hard and'resilient box which will not again soften up by the application of heat. If no second heating is used, considerable time must elapse before the box is finally dried out.

Under any circumstances the box is not adapted to or intended for use and the process or method is not for use of heat alone for the softening of the box. Neither is it intended that the box harden at once. The use of heat does not soften the box but stirs up any solvent that may remain, and will remain in the box for several days and cause the solvent to soften the box.

The objects above referred to are accomplished by that certain box and method of using boxes in shoes which will be hereinafter more specifically pointed out and claimed.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a box toe.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through a shoe.

The piece of box toe material 1 is out out of a larger piece or sheet of felt after the treatment and hardening of the sheet,

the pieces are then cut and sold, or else the sheets are sold to the manufacturer and cut by him as desired.

' The felt is first permeated with a material composed of a petroleum residue having an asphaltum base similar to asphalt. These asphaltum bases are manufactured in large quantities and are known commercially under trade names such as Creolin and Pyrolite. This material is melted and mixed in the presence of heat with rosin oil, either with or without gum or waxes of accepted character such as carnauba wax intermixed also. .The heat must be applied to cook this mixture until entirely fused together.

The pieces of felt are then passed through the mixture so as to become permeated with the compound, and then dipped into a bath of common salt and alum dissolved together. This last step makes the felt lose that stickiness which has been so disadvantageous in the previous box toes on the market, and the resultant material will harden and can be cut up into pieces of the desired shape for box toes and like stiifeners for shoes or other articles.

In using this material, the toe pieces are preferably softened with naphtha, although any petroleum product or coal tar product of similar characteristics will serve. The softener is placed in a pan and a stack of the toe pieces taken in the hand and dipped and rocked in the softener, so as to dip all of the edges of the box toe pieces into the softener about one-eighth of aninch deep, except the tip line thereof. The boxes are then allowed to stand for preferably about twelve hours, and in stacking them for this purpose care should be taken to have the tip line downwardly so that the solvent may flow down to the tip line.

In using the boxes, they are then placed together with the upper 3 over the last 4, and the pulling over and tacking down performed over the last. The box will remain soft for some time, and the lasting in of the upper may then be performed without doing anything further to the shoe. I prefer to have the boxes warmed up before use after clipping so that the softener will thoroughly permeate the blank.

lf shoes are put out in case lots, 6., a great many pulled over and then allowed to stand and later on taken up and lasted, it will be necessary to release what solvent remains in the box by applying a gentle heat.

This may be more or less than the heat of the human body, as the hardness of the box does not depend upon heat.

The heating as above noted will. cause the box to become soft again and it will remain so for a considerable time, at least long enough to last thoroughly. The tip line being thoroughly permeated with the softener or solvent will be easily pressed down in lasting so that it will not show at all, even in a smooth toed shoe, 2'. 6. without a tip trim of any kind.

To make the box dry out more quickly, T

a have found that if the petroleum or coal 'solvent evaporated, the box will be hard and resilient, and will not soften down again with the application of any heat which will not destroy the leather of the shoe.

I find it preferable to place a piece of fabric or paper 5 between the box piece and the upper 3 of the shoe. By means ofthis T facilitate the entire doing away with any tip line. The box is very pliable at this point as above noted, and the piece of fabric is advanced slightly beyond the tip of the box in pulling over the shoe.

As above pointed out, the escape of any of the solvent or softener into the leather of the shoe is not a disadvantage at all, as

it is beneficial even to patent leathers, which is not the case with alcohol and like old solvents.

In a companion application of even date Serial No. 144,258, the chemical composition of the box hardener will be duly claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A new and useful box toe material or the like comprising a piece of absorbent material impregnated with a stiffening material adapted to resist softening at tempera tures destructive to leather, said stiffening material adapted to soften upon treatment witha liquid petroleum or coal tar product, and remain soft until same has dried. out.

2. A new and useful box toe material or the like comprising a piece of absorbent material impregnated with a stiffening material adapted to resist softening at temperatures destructive to leather, said stiffening material adapted to soften upon treatment with a liquid petroleum or coal tar product, and remain soft until same hasterial impregnated with a stiffening mate- I. w

rial adapted to resist softening at temperatures' destructive to leather, said stifiening material adapted to soften upon treatment with naphtha or benzol.

4. A new and useful box toe material or the like comprising a piece of absorbent material impregnated with a stiffening material adapted to resist softening at temperatures destructive to leather, said stiffening material adapted to be softened upon treatment with the residue of a mixture of a pc- Iii troleum or coal tar product with an alcohol solution of rosin.

5. A new and useful box toe material or the like comprising a piece of absorbent material impregnated with a stiffening material adapted to resist softening at temperatures destructive to leather, said stifl'ening material adapted to soften upon treatment with naphtha or benzol, and presenting no 20 sticky surface to the operator.

ALBERT J. RYAN. 

